Electric switch.



F."L.. EAG'ER; ELECTRIC swrron;

APPLIGATION FILED JUNE IG, 1911.

Patented Oct. 20, 1914.

WITNESSES.- Vifi I V 9&4. 09h

' INVENTOR.

TORNEY.

THE NORRIS PETERS CO" PHOTO- LITHOu WASHINGTN. D. C,

UNITED STATES PATEN OFFICE;

FRANK L. EAGERQOF wA'rEn RY, CO 1\T1\TECTICUT.

ELECTRIC swrron.

To all whom it may concern: I I Be it known that I, FRANK L. EAGER, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of lVaterbury, in" the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut,-have invented a new and Improved Electric Switch, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of electric switches more commonly employed on railways to effect the operation, by the making or breaking of an electric circuit, of indicating devices of different character, and more especially signals, annunciators, and the like, to indicate the movement ofa vehicle, and an object of my invention,

among others, is to provide a device of this class extremely simple in construction and one that shall be effective and sure in its operation. a J

One form of device embodying my invention, and in the use 01"? which the objects My invention herein illustrated and described contemplates a structure in which all of the parts are rigidly supported and in which the electric circuit is established or broken by the passage of a member located on a moving vehicle. The invention does not depend upon any special form of apparatus to be actuated by the making or breaking of the electric circuit, and such apparatus is merely indicated herein, it being understood that it may be of any suitable construction, and the form of apparatus embodying my invention and herein illustrated and described contemplates the operation of the actuated devicesby the establishing or making of the electric circuit, although the: invention is not confined to such. I

In I the accompanying drawings the numerals. 6-7 denote abase, preferably formed in halves and adapted to be attached in any'suitable manner to the sup porting 'wires or a trolley system at the point from which it is desired that the actuated devicesshall be operated) As an illustration, it may be desired to be known at some point how many cars are located in a certain sectionof track. An actuated device will be located at the point to which the information is to be conveyed and connected with the switch located at the point of entrance to; said section of track, and each car as it passes into said section will place the switch in such condition that the actuated device will indicate the passage of the car into the section, and each car going Specification of Letters Patent. {P t t 061; 20, 1914:. Applicationfilediune16,1911. SeTiaIIToQMSABO. I

outofthe section in the opposite direction I "will; also indicate that fact.

the device to denote a carpassing out of the Zone or the section of track, such a device being illustrated in myco-pending applica- -tion'for U. S. Letters Patent of S No.

481781, and to which reference is hereby made for a clearer understandingof such apparatus, if such shall be required. In adapting by improved switch, I preferably make use of the current supplied through the feed wire 27 to the trolley wire 1.2, although my invention is not confined to a current derived from this, source.

A guide plate 8 is secured to the base in any suitable manner as by means of bolts 9 passed'throughthe plate and through the sections of the base, the two sections of the base being tied together as by means'of cross pieces 10. trolley wire support 11 projects downward from the guide plate in position to receive and hold the trolley wire 12 in the proper plane for contactwith the trolley. A guard 13 is-located on one side of the guide plate 'to'keep the trolley wheel in proper place asiit passes to the 1 contact plate "to be hereinafter described, i and another guard 14 is also employed to keep the trolley wheel in proper position as it. passesfrom said contact plate. -A guide. 15- is alsolocated on the guide plate this guide extending in a direction thesame as the trolley wire and in close proximity thereto, said guide being pointed at one end as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and also sloping from said point to a thicker dimension at the point where the trolley wheel leaves the guide plate, said trolley wheel first coming in contact with the point of said guide, the arrow in Fig; 1 indicat ing the direction of travel of the vehicle.

A positive contact plate 16 is also supported against the base as by means of threaded lugs 17 which lugs are split to receive the trolley wire, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. These lugs extend through the space 19 betweenthe two sections of the base and nuts 18 are secured upon the threaded ends of the lugs and serve to hold the contact plate in place. The trolley wire 12 passes from the support 11 into the space 19 between the sections of the base and through the slot in the ends of the lugs 17, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Negative contact plates 20 are also secured to the base as by means of bolts 21, these negative contact plates each having a flange 22 extending along its outer edge and cooperating with a-flange 23 on the contact plate 16 to provide grooves one on each side of the flange 23 for the reception of the trolley wheel, these grooves being of a width substantially equal to that of thethickness of the trolley wheel, so that the sides of the latter will contact with the flange 28 and one of the flanges 22.

In the operation of the device, the vehicle moving in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1, the trolley wheel passes along the wire 12 past the support 11, and along the incline of the wire from this point, the guards 13 and 14 holding the trolley in proper position at the point where the trolley wire practically leaves the groove in the trolley wheel. At this point the guide 15 is received within the groove inthe trolley wheel and the latter is thus guided into one of the grooves formed by the flanges 2223.

It will be noted that the positive contact 16 is constantly charged with electricity from the trolley wire, and as the trolley wheel passes into the groove and contacts with'the flanges 2223 a circuit is established through the negative contact and therefrom by means of the wire 24 to the actuated device 25, and thus to the negative pole'26 of the source of electric energy, the trolley wire 12 being supplied as by means of the positive wireor feed 27 extending from the positive pole of the source of electric energy. The delivery of the electric current to the actuating device 25 operates the latter to denote the travel of a car in one direction and hence its presence in a certain section of the track. Should the car reverse its direction of movement, after having operated the actuating device, its trolley wheel would pass through the opposite path and operate the actuating device in the opposite direction, to denote travel of the car in the opposite direction and hence its passage from the section of the track being governed. The guide plate at the opposite end of the switch is constructed with the guides and guards in reverse position from that shown in Fig. 1, so that in the travel of a vehicle in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrowin Fig. l the trolley wheel will pass into the other groove between the positive contact and the negative contact in the same manner as above described, and effect the same result as to the closing of another electric circuit, 50, in parallel with the circuit above mentioned to the actuated device, and thence to the negative pole 26 through the same path as before.

The actuated device or indicator may be of any form well-known to those skilled in the art to indicate the direction of travel of the vehicle. In the form of device shown in Fig. 4 the parts operate in substantially the same way, except that instead of the trolley wheel passing into a groove as above noted it traverses ridges formed in part by flanges 29 on a positive contact plate 30 and flanges 31 on negative contact plates 32, these plates being supported in substantially the same manner as hereinabove described. The positive contact plate 29 is insulated from the negative contact plates 32 as by means of insulating material 33. It will thus be noted that as the trolley wheel traverses one of the ridges 28 it will bridge across between a flange on the positive and a flange on the negative contact plate, thus making the circuit.

While I have shown and described one form of device embodying my invention this may be departed from to a greater or lesser extent and yet embody the features of this invention, and I do not therefore limit myself to the exact construction herein shown and described.

I claim 1. An electric switch having a plural number of distinct and separate paths each ar ranged to receive a trolley wheel traveling in a certain direction, means for guiding the trolley wheel into each of said paths to close an electric circuit, and actuated device, and the electric circuit including an electrical connection with both of said paths, said circuit also connecting each of said paths with said actuated device.

2. An electric switch having a plural number of paths each arranged to receive a trolley wheel traveling in a certain direction, means for guiding the trolley wheel into each of said paths, an actuated device, an electric circuit including a connection with both of said paths and with branches extending to said actuated device, said actuated device being adapted to be operated by the flow of electric fluid through said branches,said fiow' being caused bythe travel of a trolley wheel through said, paths.

3. An electric switch having two paths each to receive a trolley wheel traveling in a direction opposite to that in which it travels in the other path, means for guiding the trolley wheel into each path, an electric circuit broken in each of said paths and arranged to be completed by the bridging of a trolley wheel, said circuit including an electrical connection with both of said paths, an actuated device, and means for conducting electricity from each of said paths to said actuated device.

4. An electric switch connected to a trolley wire. and having means to guide a trolley wheel, paths arranged on said switch into which said trolley is guided to close an electric circuit, an electric circuit including an electrical connection with both of said paths, .an actuated device and branches extending between each of said paths and said actuated device.

5. An electric switch composed of plates rigidly connected and including a, positive section and negative sections, separate paths for guiding a trolley wheel in opposite directions along said switch, one path lying between the positive section and one negative section and. the other between the posi tive section and the other negative section, an electrical connection between said positive path anda source of electric energy, an actuated device connected with said source, and an electrical connection between said actuated device and each negative section.

6. An electric switch including a positive contact section connected with a trolley wire, negative contact sections supported in proximity to but out of electrical contact with the positive contact section, paths arranged to cause a trolley wheel to make contact with the positive section and a negative section in traveling in one direction, and to make contact with said positive section and another negative contact section in its travel in the opposite direction, and means for guiding the trolley wheel into said paths.

7. An electric switch supported by a single trolley wire and including a single positive contact section connected with said I I nected from the positive contact section and said sections being arranged to cause a trolley wheel to bridge the gap between the positive contact section and a negative contact section in travelin one direction and to bridge the gap between said positivecontact section and another negative contact section in its travel in the opposite direction, and means for paths. I

8. An electric switch including a plural number of separate and distinct paths, each path including two members electrically disconnected, an electrical circuit including a conductor connected with a member of each of said paths, said members being arranged to be electricallyv connected by thepassage of a trolley wheel through either of said paths, and the said circuit including branchesextending to an actuated device, and the actuated device.

.9. In an electric switch, in combination, a base, a section secured to said base and having a plural numberof paths each including a positive and negative contact arranged to be connected by the passage of a trolley ,wheel, a device connected with each of said negativecontacts,'and a guiding section for guiding a trolley wheel into a predetermined path upon the section first mentioned.

FRANK L. EAGER. Witnesses:

EVA L. STOUGHTON, LOUIS LUCIA.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents; Washington, D. G."

guiding the trolley wheel in said 

